Hyundai Motor Union Launches Full-Scale Strike on the 21st... Ends 6 Years of 'No Strikes' as Wage Negotiations Collapse

Citing a breakdown in wage negotiations, the Hyundai Motor labor union will launch a full-scale strike on the 21st, marking the first such action in 10 years since 2016.

The union’s history of aggressive labor disputes dates back to 1987. The first strikes and sit-ins began during the union’s founding process when some workers criticized the founding leadership as a puppet union. The strike, triggered by internal conflict, lasted for five days. Amid the democratization era where workers' rights demands were erupting across the industry, the union expanded its influence through long-term full-scale strikes until 1993.

In 1994, a leadership embracing a pragmatic approach took office, concluding wage negotiations without a strike for the first time since the union's inception. While disputes regarding political and social issues ensued, relatively stable labor relations were established during wage negotiations.

The 1998 foreign exchange crisis marked another turning point. To counter large-scale restructuring and layoffs, the union went on strike for 36 days demanding job security, one of the longest disputes in Hyundai Motor’s history. Following the IMF crisis, the increased use of non-regular workers and in-house subcontractors widened the wage and working condition gap between regular employees at large corporations and non-regular/partner workers, becoming a social issue and altering public perception of the Hyundai Motor regular workers' union.

In the 2000s, criticisms emerged that the regular workers' union, having secured high wages and job stability, used strikes to protect their own interests. In 2016 alone, due to conflicts over base pay and performance bonuses, the union went on strike 24 times and held a full-scale strike for the first time in 12 years.

In the U.S., the United Auto Workers (UAW) staged a six-week strike against GM, Ford, and Stellantis in 2023, involving approximately 45,000 workers. In Germany, when Volkswagen considered plant closures and wage cuts in 2024, roughly 98,650 workers across nine plants held a large-scale warning strike. Conversely, the Japanese Toyota union rarely resorts to actual strikes despite demanding high wage increases annually. Some industry insiders point out that given Hyundai Motor's recent decline in profitability, the justification for the union's demands is lacking.